Why carers are ‘less lonely’

ONE in four women over 50 care for an older relative or grandchildren.

But while it can be a burden for those approaching retirement or who have recently retired, it can also bring benefits, a report from the Office for National Statistics said.

Women in their fifties and sixties who spend time caring for others are less likely than those who neither work nor look after relatives to feel lonely.

‘Experience of caring for children in the past may mean caring later in life is a familiar role [for women], which additionally provides companionship and alleviates loneliness,’ the ONS said. Men, whose friends tend to be made at work, suffer more from loneliness when they become carers, it found.

The analysis of ‘sandwich carers’ – those looking after younger and older generations – was based on the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing, which has followed more than 11,000 people since 2002.

It showed that one in four women and one in eight men have caring responsibilities over their late career and retirement years. It found men tend to end up caring for their wife rather than other relatives.